NEWS

Some items I missed during the week.

Property initiative on ballot An initiative that would make it harder to condemn private property in Montana qualified Thursday for the November general election ballot. But that didn't immediately derail two legal actions surrounding the ballot issue. A court hearing is set for 10:30 this morning in Helena before District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock. Attorneys will debate why the Cascade County Elections Office will not meet today's deadline for turning in ballot-issue signatures supporting Constitutional Initiative 154 to the Montana secretary of state. Cascade County on Wednesday petitioned the state District Court to extend the deadline for the county elections office to certify signatures and turn them in. Also Wednesday, initiative backers sued in state court, asking a judge to compel the Cascade County Elections Office to meet today's deadline. The county got behind in certifying signatures on petitions because of the rare recount of a primary legislative race that ended in a tie.
Lawsuit seeks to kill ballot question A coalition of Southern Nevada governments and business alliances filed a lawsuit Thursday, seeking to kill a ballot question that would rein in eminent domain land-seizure powers. The suit's backers ask a Clark County District Court judge to strip from the Nov. 7 ballot the question known as the People's Initiative to Stop the Taking of Our Land, or PISTOL, which they call overly broad and potentially crippling to prudent land-planning and government coffers. "The lawsuit is an effort to present ... what we believe to be the invalidity of the initiative in several regards," said Bruce Woodbury, a Clark County commissioner who is among the plaintiffs. "Of course, our concerns go well beyond that, and they have to do with what we think would be a very destructive effect that this proposal could have on our quality of life for everybody in the state." Don Chairez, a petition backer, former district judge and current Republican candidate for attorney general, dismissed Woodbury's claims as those of power brokers trying to retain power on the backs of property owners. "He (Woodbury) is trying to stifle and muzzle the voices of the people. I don't think people will go for it. I don't think the courts will go for it," Chairez said. "I'm not worried....
Backers undeterred by Hetch Hetchy estimate Environmentalists vowed Tuesday to press ahead with their campaign to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state, buoyed by a state report that says draining the reservoir is technically feasible and undeterred by significant political opposition and a price tag that could hit $10 billion. They concede there are many questions yet to be answered -- not the least of which are how to knock down a 410-foot dam and how to finance the restoration of a valley submerged beneath 117 billion gallons of water since 1923. Restoration advocates argue the report released Wednesday by the State Department of Water Resources proves restoring Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley can be done without impacting the quality or quantity of water drawn from the Tuolumne River. "The state found no fatal flaws in the restoration concept that would preclude additional study," the report states, adding that "it does appear technically feasible to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley." Environmentalists seized on that finding to push for further study of an idea they've championed for at least 20 years....
Woodpecker Halts Ark. Irrigation Project A federal judge halted a $320 million irrigation project Thursday for fear it could disturb the habitat of a woodpecker that may or may not be extinct. The dispute involves the ivory-billed woodpecker. The last confirmed sighting of the bird in North America was in 1944, and scientists had thought the species was extinct until 2004, when a kayaker claimed to have spotted one in the area. But scientists have been unable to confirm the sighting. Still, U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson said that for purposes of the lawsuit brought by environmental groups, he had to assume the woodpecker exists in the area. And he ruled that federal agencies may have violated the Endangered Species Act by not studying the risks fully. "When an endangered species is allegedly jeopardized, the balance of hardships and public interest tips in favor of the protected species. Here there is evidence" that the ivory-billed woodpecker may be jeopardized, he said. The National Wildlife Federation and the Arkansas Wildlife Federation had sued the Army Corps of Engineers, arguing that the project to build a pumping station that would draw water from the White River would kill trees that house the birds and that noise from the station would cause the woodpeckers stress. The judge said the Corps and the Interior Department must conduct further studies before proceeding....
Navajo Nation: EPA to set tough standards for power plant The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed some of the most stringent emission requirements in the country for a planned power plant on the Navajo Nation, setting a new level of performance for coal-fired plants in the United States. Houston-based Sithe Global Power and the tribe's Diné Power Authority plan to build a 1,500 megawatt power plant that could power up to 1.5 million homes in cities across the Southwest. The Desert Rock Energy Project would bring in about $50 million a year in taxes and royalty payments for the tribe, making it the largest economic development project to be undertaken by the Navajos. The EPA released a draft clean-air permit for Desert Rock this week, saying its requirements would limit emissions from the plant to levels that protect public health and the environment....
Golf course, Paiutes will have to wait for prairie dog removal The Cedar Ridge Golf Course and Paiute Tribe of Utah's prairie dog problems will continue for at least another year. The golf course and tribe applied for permits allowing them to remove the prairie dogs from their property by relocating some and killing the rest. Elise Boeke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ecologist, said she received comments from Forest Guardians, a New Mexico-based environmental group, protesting the project. "We'll have to work through these," she said. This means no relocation will take place until next year because USFWS can't issue any permits until this issue is resolved, and the trapping season ends in August....
Scientists want global body to conserve biodiversity Scientists warned on Wednesday that the world is on the brink of a major biodiversity crisis and called for the creation of an international body to advise governments on how to protect the planet's ecosystems. "All the scientific evidence points to the fact that whatever measure of vulnerability you take, whether it is local populations, species or ecosystem, we know that the rate at which we are altering them now is faster than it has been in the past," Georgina Mace said in an interview. Mace, director of science at the Institute of Zoology in London, is one of 19 scientists from 13 countries who signed a declaration published in the journal Nature explaining why an intergovernmental body is needed. They said that although all aspects of biodiversity are in decline and many species are likely to become extinct this century, the crisis is not given the weight and importance it merits in public and private decision making. The new panel would address policy-related issues and get the best consensus on what the scientific opinion really is....
The Writing on the Wal-Mart Picture Al Gore standing in a modest auditorium deep in America's heartland before an exultant crowd of Wal-Mart employees, comparing their campaign to lighten the company's environmental footprint to the Allies' righteous struggle in World War II. This after Rev. Jim Ball, head of the Evangelical Environmental Network, likened the giant retailer's greening efforts to the work of Jesus Christ. This strange scene unfolded last week in Bentonville, Ark., and Muckraker was there to witness it. The occasion was an environmental strategy meeting of some 800 Wal-Mart execs, managers, suppliers, and partners, where the heads of the corporation's various divisions -- from seafood and textiles to transportation and packaging -- outlined their respective green agendas. Mid-afternoon brought a screening of An Inconvenient Truth; more than a few audience members could be seen dabbing teary eyes as the documentary drew to a close. Then the entire crowd erupted into a standing ovation when the lights came back on and Gore trotted up to the stage, Tipper in tow....
BP to Shut Down 12 North Slope Wells Britain's BP PLC is closing 12 oil wells on Alaska's North Slope as a precaution after whistleblowers alleged more than 50 were leaking. The wells were in the process of being shut down Tuesday, BP spokesman Darren Beaudo said. The action came after workers told the Financial Times of London about the leaks, according to the newspaper, which first reported the shutdowns on its Web site. Most of the shuttered wells were in Prudhoe Bay, Beaudo told The Associated Press. The shutdowns come a month after BP confirmed it had received a subpoena from a U.S. grand jury investigating a massive oil leak in Alaska last year....
House approves treaty to protect polar bears The House gave its approval Monday to a U.S.-Russia treaty to help protect polar bears from overhunting and other threats to their survival. The House bill puts into effect a 2000 treaty that sets quotas on polar bear hunting by native populations in the two countries and establishes a bilateral commission to analyze how best to sustain the polar bear habitat. It passed by voice vote. The Polar Bear Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union estimates the polar bear population in the Arctic at 20,000 to 25,000, and projects a 30 percent decline in that number over the next 45 years. Climatic warming that melts the bears’ sea ice habitat is regarded as the main threat, but pollution and overhunting are other major concerns....